Bittersweet Fruit
by Child of Loki
Summary: An older, wiser Uly believes he knows why his mother got sick. True and Uly’s children are the key to turning G889 into a utopia. But what price are they willing to pay?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Earth 2 or its characters…**

**Author's note: Just rewatched the series (haven't seen it since I was about ten years old) and this fic idea popped in my head and wouldn't go away. (This could probably use another edit, but who knows when I'll get around to that…)**

**Time Period: It's way post-canon, but hopefully still entertaining.**

**Warning: Some slight smut and fluff.**

**Bittersweet Fruit**

**Prologue: I recognized the Queen, but took the apple anyway. For I could see Happily Ever After.**

_Fifteen years after Eden Advance crashed on G889…_

"In here?" True Danziger asked, giggling and feeling like a teenage girl again.

"Yes," Uly responded with a smile, still leading her by the hand. Deeper and deeper into the Terrian caves they wound their way.

It reminded her of the first time Uly had kissed her, leading her far away so no one would find them. She had thought he had wanted to give her a gift. He _had_ said it was a surprise after all. And it had been quite the surprise, even though they had been flirting horribly for the entire year up to that point.

And now, nearly ten years later, they were finally going to be together. True was happier than she could ever remember being. At last, they had confessed feelings, and were pursuing a committed relationship. Those years without him, when he was away learning from the Terrians had been harder on True than she had ever let anyone see or even admitted to herself.

But now, now-

"We're here," he announced excitedly, interrupting her thoughts, as they rounded a corner and entered a larger cavern. It was still small enough that it possessed a certain cozy charm, accentuated by the glow of the lights he had scattered about and the blankets laid out in the middle.

Before she had time to compliment Uly on the preparations he had made, he swept her up into an eager kiss. And True never felt so alive or in love.

…..

Desert scrub was interspersed with dunes, and it stretched for as far as the eye could see. In every direction, the vibrant blue sky stretched down to meet the white horizon. The sun blazed, washing away what little color remained from the sparse landscape.

True shielded her eyes from the scorching sun in an attempt to survey her surroundings. Although she had experienced the dreamscape only a few times before, she immediately recognized it. But why had the Terrians chosen to contact her now? There was no danger that she knew of… And Uly would surely be the better choice if they needed help.

"Hello?" she called to the barren place, waiting for someone or something to make its presence known.

She turned and jumped with fright. A Terrian had appeared behind her as silent as the dreamscape itself. Trying to be respectful, she stepped back a couple paces. She knew she had nothing to fear from them. She had done nothing wrong. And this was only the dreamscape. Besides, Uly trusted them. And she trusted Uly.

But that didn't stop the instinctually unsettled feeling from gaining root deep inside of her. The Terrians always made her feel on edge. It was probably something ancient, buried deep within her genes. Her base humanity recognized them as something that was distinctly alien. They did not belong to the world where her species evolved. And every deep-rooted synapse inside of her knew this.

It stepped closer to her.

She steadied her nerve, forced her body to stay where it was, in its passive stance. The Terrian meant her no harm. She knew this. Taking another moment to reign in her fight-or-flight instinct, True lifted her gaze to meet the Terrian's. Instantly, she felt the tension leave her. It possessed that perpetually curious look that they always trained upon humans. Curiosity was something the two species had in common, apparently.

But it also looked, well, not really looked, she more of felt it, like an aura, that it was happy, jubilant even.

True couldn't help but smile widely, adopting its joy as her own.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, a garland of flora native to the planet appeared in its outstretched hands. An offering. She bowed her head, and the Terrian draped it around her neck. Then it stepped back and vanished into the dirt below.

Something made her turn around once more.

Another Terrian.

They went through the same procedure, although this time a little less hesitatingly on True's side. When it, too, disappeared into the earth of the dreamscape, another one appeared. This time, not directly behind her, but off to one side.

When yet another Terrian appeared directly behind her once more, True wondered if this bizarre ceremony would ever end. But it was the last to appear and honor her with a garland of woven yellow flowers.

She furrowed her brow in contemplation of the strange gesture. Perhaps, they were representing each of the cardinal directions, the divisions for the main tribes of Terrians living on the continent. She was startled from her thoughts by an appearance of a different sort.

"Uly?" she questioned upon seeing the man appear before her as the Terrians had. He, too, was offering her a garland of flowers. Without words, he placed the wreath of vibrantly red flowers over her head to rest atop the others around her neck.

He smiled broadly at her, a loving, euphoric smile.

And True realized the message given her within the dreamscape.

….

Waking with a start but without fear, True opened her eyes wide with surprise. She was still in the cavern, the lights glowing faintly, illuminating the serene face of her sleeping lover.

His cheek was resting upon her collarbone, his arm lying at her waist. It was incredibly rare to see him so peaceful that she hated to disturb him. But she just had to know. And he would be the one to confirm or deny her suspicions about the Dreaming.

"Uly?" she spoke softly, running her hand through the dark curls on his head, over his placid cheek. He failed to respond, so she repeated his name a little more loudly. "Uly?"

"Mmm…" he moaned, beginning to wake. Upon realizing where he was-in True's arms-he nuzzled her bare skin and began placing kisses there. His previously slack hand at her waist awakened as well, and roamed down her side, over her outer thigh and hooked behind her knee. He pulled her leg to his waist, shifting so that her body fit tight to his once more, all the while covering her saccharine skin with kisses.

"Uly!" True tried to scold through embarrassingly girly giggles.

"What?" he asked between pressing his lips to her delicate flesh.

"I wanted to tell you something," she managed to inform him, the distraction of his ministrations becoming overwhelming.

"Can it wait?" he asked, claiming her lips, eager to resume their dance one again.

"I had a Dream," she said breathlessly when he moved his attention onto her neck. Almost instantly, he stopped, and moved to examine her face.

"Really?"

True nodded her head.

"What did they tell you?" he asked. It was more than curiosity. He looked suddenly much more sober.

"I think I'm pregnant…" she began, confused by what had seemed so clear in the dreamscape. "Or…rather I will be, soon."

She looked deep into his eyes, trying to find an answer within their depths. Did he know? What was he thinking? What did it mean?

"Our child will be special…like you?" she more stated than asked.

Uly nodded his head silently and sighed sadly.

"Oh, True…" he whispered, kissing her cheek. He moved to sit beside her.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned by his reaction. The Ulysses that True knew, loved, wouldn't respond to her revelation this way, not unless something was seriously wrong. She just couldn't see what it was that was bothering him about the thought of having a child with her.

"I should have…" he lamented quietly, without looking at her. "I just didn't think it would happen this fast…"

"Please, Uly, tell me," she pleaded with him in a voice as quiet as his, only slightly more urgent.

He breathed in deeply before facing her, looking apologetic-for what, True had no clue.

"I love you," he announced whole-heartedly.

"I know," True said. Only a slight smile lighted upon her lips, for she knew there was more to come. "I love you, too."

He returned her bittersweet smile before continuing. "Maybe it was selfish of me. I should have told you the truth before we decided to be together."

He looked away once more and True resisted the urge to grab and shake him. Sensing the frustration that was no doubt building beyond her control, Uly finally spilled his guts. He owed her a frank explanation. And he supposed it was better to get it over with now when she still had a way out, a chance to escape fate.

"True, I've been Dreaming," he explained. "The Terrians have shown me the future, our child's future."

True simply nodded, eyes wide with wonder, unwilling to interrupt him.

"It's a wonderful future, True." His eyes seemed to fill with a distant glory, of things unrealized but no less real or precious to him than the woman before him. "A utopia, where humans live as one with the Terrians, with the planet. And all because of our child. I wish you could see it, True-Lady."

She smiled at the appearance of the endearment only he used. It was a variation on the nickname that her father had always called her. Uly had created it when in one of the many moments she had been upset with her father as a teenage girl, she had gone to complain to her friend, to seek consolation. That time, the affront had been her father's failure to recognize her as a young woman. She had yelled at him when he tried to patronize her with the childhood endearment. It was that day that Uly had begun to call her "True-Lady." It was that day she began the long journey of falling in love with Ulysses Adair.

And love him, she did.

His words began to sink in as he grew silent once more. Their child would bring about peace, utopia.

"Why can't I see it?" she asked. "Can you show me?"

A thought occurred to Uly. He would show her what he had seen, learned in the Dreaming. Perhaps, it would be easier than telling her. Never had he thought the words would be so hard to find. How could he tell her that if she chose this path with him, she would not live to see her child grown? How could he tell her it was the best way? If he showed her what he had seen, maybe she'd understand.

He took her hand and placed it on his chest, placing his on hers. Instructing her to close her eyes, he did the same as he placed a hand on the bare dirt floor of the cavern and connected them to the Dreaming.

….

Tears streamed down True Danziger's face, but she looked at her lover, her life, with adoration and resolve in her eyes.

"It is beautiful beyond words, Uly," she said softly, awed by the Dream he had shared with her, the future that could be. But her heart was breaking all the same. "And you're right. If there's even a chance that that future could be realized, we need to take it."

"More than a chance, if the Terrians are correct," Uly responded, heartened that she was of one mind with him, that she was willing to sacrifice so much for hope.

"We'll need your mother."

"I know."

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 1, Part 1

**Chapter One**

**Part One: I choked on the piece of poisoned apple. **

_Twenty-two years after Devon Adair was placed in cold sleep…_

"I'm sorry," Julia Heller-Solace gave her condolences. "There's no antidote."

A knot had formed deep inside her stomach. It was cold and it ached. She had given dozens of patients bad news before, but never to people she was as close to as the couple sitting before her. She had known them for most of their lives, she had helped protect them, watched them grow and fall in love, helped bring their children into the world.

Julia felt grief and sorrow like she had never encountered before. She desperately fought the urge to cry before returning her attention to the patients.

"How long?" Ulysses Adair asked. He seemed remarkably calm. They both did. It threw the good doctor off.

"Uh…a couple of days, maybe," she gave them the prognosis while simultaneously finding herself confused by their reaction to the news that they were going to die.

"It's too soon," True voiced her concern, but it wasn't typical. It wasn't the lamentation of a dying woman, someone who was afraid. It was a different brand of worry. "They're too young."

Julia watched uncomprehendingly as the man put an arm comfortingly around his wife and pulled her close. True leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Okay," Julia interrupted the pair who seemed all too resigned to their fate. "Forgive me for being insensitive, but _what exactly is going on here?_ I tell you that you've both been poisoned, probably by someone close to you, fatally so, and all you do is sit there?!"

"Julia, it's alright," Uly pacified the distraught woman. He had that gift, that damn, frustrating gift that made you feel like a ridiculous child, despite being twenty years his senior. Most of the time, Julia admired his abilities, his wisdom. But presently, as it was turned upon her person, she loathed it.

How could they be so calm, so serene? They were _dying! _In two day's time, they would be no more! No longer, would she share meals with them, see True's smile, listen intently to Uly's enlightened stories and philosophies, revel in the joy of their love for one another, for their children, for the planet.

Dr. Julia Heller-Solace began to cry uncontrollably. She felt herself encompassed by warm, tender arms. And despite her anger over their resignation to die, Julia felt herself comforted.

"It's okay Julia," True said softly, after she released the older woman.

"We've known something like this would happen even before Lily was born," Uly tried to explain without revealing too much. "We accepted our fate long ago. But time is short and there is much we have to do."

"We need your help, Julia," True said. "And Alonzo's, too."

"Will you help us?" Uly requested.

The doctor could only nod her head, too overcome with the pain of the impending loss of her beloved friends-more than friends, they were family.

…

Perusing the readings (for what was probably the hundredth time), Julia reassured herself (for what was probably the thousandth time) that the cold sleep units were still functioning properly. She was nervous about this plan. What doctor in their right mind wouldn't be?

But Uly and True believed it was their best option. And Alonzo fully supported the couple in both their immediate plan and the ideals they held for the future. In fact, when the Adairs had accompanied Julia back to her home to explicate in greater detail their request for assistance, Alonzo was waiting for them. Apparently, the Terrians had already contacted him in a Dream, something they had refrained from doing for many years…at least not that Julia was aware.

Even after the situation was explained to her, that Uly and True had already been aware of their ultimate fate, and fully accepted it, that it was the best chance they had for peace on the living world, Julia had still felt apprehensive at best. At worst, she was completely and utterly confused. Maybe because she was a doctor, had been engineered to be one, a scientist to her very core…she just couldn't grasp the ethereal whole-heartedly.

The planet was alive. Okay, that made sense to her in a way. She had basically come up with the theory herself. Ulysses Adair was connected to the living planet somehow, through the Terrians. This was more difficult to comprehend. She still didn't fully-or even marginally-understand how the bond worked. And seeing the future?

This was an all together different concept that she had no hope of wrapping her mind around. However, that didn't stop Julia from believing in it. Well, to be more exact believing in her friends, her husband. If this was truth to them, then it was truth to her.

And if by some chance, this was actual, real, undeniable, although apparently intangible Truth, then, like they had explained to her, it was most definitely worth the risk. Julia may have built her home with Alonzo on the Fringes, focused on her work, become absorbed in her own little version of the perfect life, but she wasn't oblivious to the storm that was coalescing around them. New Pacifica, and all of G889 for that matter, was headed towards civil war.

Previously, all she could do was pray that she would not live to see it, that her children would not suffer it, but now there was something she could do about it…

"Julia?" True prompted. The older woman seemed to have drifted away on her thoughts.

"Oh! Yes?" Julia composed herself.

"Where were you?" True asked, smiling slightly. It was a sad smile, but her smiles had all been sad since the doctor had revealed the dreadful diagnosis.

"I'm sorry?" Julia was still somewhat lost in her own thoughts.

"You seemed a million miles away for a minute there," True supplied.

"Oh, yeah," Julia admitted. "I was just thinking about how bad the situation is getting, that you were poisoned just because of political disagreements. This whole planet is only a few incidents away from chaos. And I feel like there's nothing I can do about it."

"But you are doing something about it," Uly interrupted their conversation with one of his confident smiles. Julia could not deny that the man was a natural leader, a trait he no doubt inherited from his mother. A simple look like the one he just gave her, reassured you of his confidence in your abilities, made you think that you were truly capable of doing anything, and more, made you willing to do anything he asked. "We'd never have been able to revive them without you."

"Or even get our hands on their cold sleep units," True added.

It was lucky that Julia had been the one listed as their primary medical care provider. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to move their units from the storage facility to her lab. With the way things were, Julia was surprised the Central Pacifican government had fulfilled their request at all. Of course, decade-old frozen Edenites weren't that important to Central bureaucrats. And they wouldn't care if shipping them to the Fringes was hazardous to their health.

Alonzo appeared in the doorway, his graying hair unkempt, his breathing a little bit more ragged from physical exertion than it would've been a few years ago.

"The coast is clear, as far as I can tell," he announced. "We're all set to do this."

Julia nodded her head, swallowing back her anxiety. She had performed dozens of operations, hundreds of procedures, but this time, it was different somehow. It meant more. There was more weight to it, more significant things than a single life or death rode on its outcome.

"Okay, True," Julia signaled that she was ready. "Help me with your father's unit first."

…..

"True-Girl?"

John Danziger's voice was huskier than anyone remembered. It was undoubtedly from the misuse of being in cold sleep for near a decade. Besides this single, minor detail, he was exactly as his daughter remembered him.

"I'm here, Daddy," she said leaning in close, letting him cup her cheek, still small and delicate in his large hand. She gave him a wistful smile.

She was a gorgeous sight, his daughter, the thing that mattered most to him. And he missed her, missed her so much. They say a cold sleep is like any other night's rest, you lie down and wake up, supposedly without feeling like years upon years have passed. Most of the time, you don't even dream. But John Danziger felt the years, the years lost with his daughter…with his grand-daughter.

His memory was just catching up to him. He had a grandchild, a beautiful girl, like her mother, like his True-Girl. And that's why he had done this, agreed to submit to the living-death of cold sleep. For _her_…

And if he was awake, that meant…

"Oh, god, True," he whispered, a pain beginning to fill his chest, choke his throat. He was to awake when she was dead and gone, to care for the granddaughter he had only meant once, but had instantly fallen in love with.

This couldn't be right. Perhaps, the plan had changed. Maybe Uly had released the predictions were wrong, because here True was, living and breathing, smiling…

But behind her apparent affection and happiness at seeing her long-frozen father, there was sadness, a deep and painful weight upon her soul. He could see it in her eyes that were trained fixedly upon his face.

"What's happened?" he asked, knowing it was terrible, and that he'd probably be better not hearing the twisted tale. Clinging to the hope that he knew had no ground upon which to stand, he prayed that she's inform him that it had been a mistake, that the plans had changed, that they had awakened him because he was no longer needed to bear such a burden in the future, that he could live happily with his family in the present.

His treasure looked away and when she finally met his eyes, they were wet. To stall for more time, she helped him sit up; Danzigers never wanted others to see them cry. Finally regaining her composure, she faced him once more.

"We've been poisoned," True told him, her eyes steeled with an acceptance and resolve of which he knew he'd never be capable. He need not ask the prognosis. There was only one outcome which would've found him among the wakeful once more. And a severe anger flamed inside him. He wanted to hurt whoever was taking his angel away from him, taking parents away from his grand-daughter.

Looking at her, at Uly who was standing beside her, at Julia and Alonzo nearby, he fought the overpowering rage that was twining itself around the agony deep inside him. They were in obvious pain, although the signs were probably subtle enough to go unnoticed by someone unfamiliar with them. But John knew them all, so very well. And even through their suffering, they seemed calm, resolute. They had a mission to fulfill. And they needed his help. He wouldn't let them down.

"How much time?" he asked instead of the question to which he desperately wanted to know the answer. _Who? _Who did this to the ones he loved? Who would he hunt down and kill, possibly with his bare hands?

"About a day," Uly answered, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. Throughout it all, she had been so brave, so tough. It was for her, because he couldn't let her down, that Uly had managed to keep going, forming and carrying out plans at all. Giving her the small sign of support seemed to pale in comparison to what she had given him, but he offered it nonetheless, because he knew that for True, telling her father was the most difficult part of it all.

John's heart was breaking. He supposed he should be happy, thankful, that he got this one last chance, this gift of a few measly hours to spend with his family, before they were ripped away from him. Is this what he had sacrificed all those years for, all those years he could have spent with his daughter, watching his family grow. _How long had it been?_

For the first time, John realized how young they still were. And although he didn't think it possible, it deepened his sorrow and feeling of loss. He reached out to stroke her cheek gently once more.

"You're still so young," he said softly, admiring the youthful beauty still in his daughter's face. She'd never have a chance to grow old… He bit back tears. "How long was I in cold sleep?"

"Approximately seven years," Julia spoke up, finally finding her voice. It was such a difficult scene to watch. How many more like it would she see in the coming days, in the all-too-short hours her friends' had left? How much more heart-wrenching would it get?

He could only nod his head in response. They deserved more, so much more. Barely in their thirties and it was the end of their lives. If he had died at that age, his life would've ended before it really began. He never would've seen this planet, never would've met Devon or Ulysses, the others, and never would've seen his daughter grow, fall in love, start her own family…

There was so much to regret, and he would mourn their lost years as if they were his own. Seven years he had sacrificed, only to see his daughter's life cut short, seven precious years out of so few she had been given.

_No! Stop it!_

John scolded himself. The melancholy thoughts would take him nowhere but into the depths of despair. They needed him. His granddaughter would need him. He had to be strong for the ones he loved. He _would_ be strong for _them_.

"So, did you wake Sleeping Beauty yet?" he asked lightly, attempting to change the mood and subject by force.

**A/N: Next up…the return of Devon and some more plot exposition…**


	3. Chapter 1, Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Earth 2 or its characters…

**Disclaimer: I do not own Earth 2 or its characters…**

**Author's note: Sorry it took so long for anyone out there reading this…Got distracted and whatnot. If it helps, it's longer than what I usually write for a single post :-) **

**This probably/definitely needs another edit, but frankly, I just didn't feel like it, so apologies for errors (grammatical, spelling, factual, or otherwise)…**

**Anyway, enjoy?**

**Chapter One**

**Part Two: All she needs is a kiss.**

Devon Adair, his mother. She _was_ beautiful. And exactly as he remembered her. Even though she had been in cold sleep, her life-functions suspended for all those years, he felt she should have changed, ever so slightly; If not in actuality, simply in his perception of her. He had only been nine years old when she was-in effect-taken from him, after all. And he was a man now, a husband and father, a leader. Yet, she was precisely as he remembered, wise and compassionate as ever.

She had listened attentively as they began the arduous explanation of everything that had passed. Of how Uly believed she was part of some sort of strange planetary design. The planet, or the Terrians, or maybe there was some sort of divine being living at the heart of this world…whoever, _whatever_ had somehow known or seen that she would be needed in the future, and as she was then, not as she would be after decades of living in the colony. It, they… She got sick. And now, since the time was right, the Terrians had been able to cure her.

It was all far too confusing, too much to take in after waking from a very long sleep. But they said there was more, much more. So she tried to pay attention, despite her immense joy upon being reunited with her son, much older than when she had left him. She had missed so much… And True Danziger, her daughter-in-law…grandchildren…an apparently thriving colony…

But something wasn't quite right. They were all happy to see her. Of that, she was certain. However, there was a tension in the room-well, cave that the Terrians had brought her in order to heal her-she couldn't ignore, and it was more significant than the knowledge that strange complex forces were at work. John looked ecstatic to see her at first, but now refused to meet her eyes, and everyone had grown very quiet. It seemed like the time had come for whatever bad news was lying upon everyone's mind.

His mother was giving him a questioning look. If the circumstances were any different, Uly would have given anything not to bring her such terrible news, such heartache. But it was his responsible. He would be the one to break his mother's heart. She would hate him for accepting such a fate, for not fighting it, but he knew she would love him always despite the eternal hurt she'd suffer.

"Mom," he began softly, fighting the urge to fling himself into her arms and cry the torment and pain away from his soul. It wasn't his impending death that pained him, but the anguish he'd caused all those who cared about him, the suffering he'd inflicted upon his beloved True, the loss their children would have to endure. "We don't have much time together…"

Devon barely heard the tale, worthy of the great tragedians of Earth. It was as if someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart until it could no longer beat under the pressure. Perhaps, it had never unthawed from cold sleep at all…

The tears did not come. She would not let them. Her son had been strong for her, was being strong for them all. And she would return the favor. She did not plead with Uly, or with Julia that there must be a cure, another solution out there, somewhere, despite her maternal supplications that there must be. She owed them all better than that. Besides it was in the very core of her nature to do what was expected of her, to lead those who looked to her for strength they could not find in such moments of incredible grief.

When the exposition of the tragedy was complete and a lengthy silence they simply could not afford had passed, Devon sought in vain to lighten the mood unknowingly as John had before her. The pain was great, and there was no cure for it, but she could not tolerate seeing her friends and family so distraught.

"May I see Lily?" she asked with a bittersweet smile on her face. John's face seemed to light up at the idea of seeing his granddaughter again.

"There'll be time for that later," True said in her most stern motherly tone, which quite impressed Devon, whose last memory of the woman was as a young, mischievous girl, anything but responsible. "They need their rest."

"_They?_" John asked, his brow furrowed. Devon gave her son and his wife a curious look. Maybe she hadn't been paying attention, but apparently John was surprised as well by the pronoun's appearance.

"We didn't tell you about Liam?" Uly asked, surprised himself that they left such an important detail out.

"Liam?" John parroted.

"Liam, your grandson," Uly replied. "He's four-"

"And so sweet," True interrupted, beaming with pride.

"An amazing little guy," Alonzo added, smiling like the others. Apparently, the young Adair children were charmers.

"You'll absolutely adore him," Julia informed her old friends. "And Lily, too."

"You wouldn't believe what the two of them were building the other day…"Alonzo began a banal tale concerning uncommon children that nonetheless comforted them all with its everydayness. "I was out checking the small crop of-"

He was interrupted by an outcry of pain. Doubled over like she had been punched in the stomach, True grasped the side of the stone slab table that had served as platform for Devon's body when the Terrians healed her. Uly was already at her side, supporting her and Julia was hurrying across the room to provide aide.

"True?!" John had exclaimed, instinctively starting forward, but hesitating upon witnessing her husband's control of the situation.

"I-I'm okay," she replied shakily, straightening up a little.

"You're bleeding!" Devon exclaimed, surprised by the deep red spreading down the legs of the young woman's pants.

True touched the offending fluid and considered it with a strange look on her face. She looked to her husband, her eyes large and her face pallid.

"Oh, god, the baby," she whispered before collapsing into Uly and Julia's arms.

--

True sat still as a stone, staring at the white-washed wall of Julia's home clinic. Her heart felt like it had turned to ice. She was empty inside. So empty.

Others would've called her foolish or cruel for bringing not just two children into the world, but getting pregnant with a third while knowing full well that she would abandon them. Leaving her children was not something she would ever willingly to do, but somehow she had grown to accept the fate. And it _was_ cruel.

But she had thought there had been years left…her babies were still so young, not even close to the first hints of adulthood. She had known that she would not live to seen them grown. But they were so far from being grown, still in the early spring of their lives. They were but seedlings, now left alone in the scorching heat with no one to shade them, to fend off those eager to pull them up by the roots.

That wasn't true. Her father had promised. And they had Devon…and Julia and Alonzo, and the Martins.

But who did her little one have, the one who had been safely nestled inside her?

She had felt incredibly guilt when she realized that hers and Uly's deaths were imminent, that she had let another life begin inside her that would never live, breath the air, see the world.

It had, however, been a small comfort knowing that they would die together. Her child who never had a chance would always be protected inside her. But the poison had taken that comfort from her, taken her unborn child before it was their time.

"Whoever poisoned you didn't know about the pregnancy," Julia concluded her explanation of why True had miscarried. Poisons were sinister. There was no argument to that. But the traitor had been one of their most trusted friends (but for the original Edenites) and they had chosen a rather inoffensive device to orchestrate the couple's demise. The poison was neither the quick and painful type, nor the kind that drained the life out of a person slowly. It simply built up in the system until the heart gave out.

Unfortunately, that was in the case of an ordinary person's system, not the altered one of a pregnant woman. And so, True had been separated from one child before the rest. It was a shock she had not prepared herself to take in the life she had freely chosen.

The one for which she had chosen such a fate proved himself worthy of such a sacrifice once more, as he wrapped his arms around his suffering wife and brought her comfort without uttering a single word. Uly had said them all before, from the sincerest apologies for bringing her such woe to the most ardent and genuine confessions of love, but his touch expressed more feeling than any word was capable.

--

True insisted upon returning to their parents. There was still so much the recently reawakened pair needed to know. Julia and Alonzo were perfectly capable of filling them in, but it was different when you heard the words so eloquently spoken by Ulysses Adair. They moved you, mesmerizing your heart, and stirring you to action as well as blanketing your fears and worries with a warm sense of peace.

He would not leave her side. So, it was up to her to convince both Uly and Julia that she was well enough to go to the caves once more. It would be the last time. And Uly would never leave her side again. She took comfort in that fact, the only one as immutable as their imminent demise.

The journey had never seemed so long. But at the same time, it was far too short. She had wanted to take in every sight, steal every last bit of enjoyment she could from the physical world. However, there could never be enough time for that, so True relished what she had. As they traversed the small settlement perched on the Fringes of New Pacifica for the final time, True developed the most severe need to see her children.

They had already said goodbye, behaving as if they were simply tucking them in for the night. Causing them alarm in addition to the pain they were bound to suffer was something neither mother nor father wished. But Uly relented easily to her request. She could see the same desire reflected in his eyes.

The pair, along with Julia collected the children from the Martin household, giving young Liz special thanks for watching over them, before they finally reentered the nearby Terrian cave system.

Liam slept in his father's arms, his cherubic face pressed to Uly's shoulder. His sister walked lethargically alongside her mother, until she was told that she was going to meet her long-lost grandparents. Then an excited skip entered her step that made True smile despite the solemn burden upon her soul.

Lily had always longed to meet her grandmother Devon. They had taken the little girl to see her once when she was only five. She had been extremely taken with the frozen beauty, deeming her a woe-begotten princess or queen of old. True supposed she could see why. Devon had always commanded a stately presence. And even in suspended animation, there was an undeniable elegance about her. Her physical features did nothing to dispel the notion of a bewitched fairytale princess, with her dark hair, pale skin, and ruby lips.

The little girl instantly recognized her grandmother, running to the woman and nearly knocking her over with an excited hug. Devon laughed merrily. It was a beautiful sound to all their ears, one they had thought long-lost.

"I guess we know which grandparent is the favorite," John commented. His voice attracted the attention of the giddy child, and soon she was jumping into his arms as well, wide grin spread across her small, round face.

After the hysterics of a little girl meeting her long-lost, long-pined-for grandparents ended, they all settled in for the epic chat and task of filling in the Van Winkles. Lily claimed the place between her newfound family members, while the Liam was transferred to his grandmother's arms without emerging from his dreamland. Uly chose a spot opposite the newly reawakened pair, so as to face them, hopefully conveying reassurance in his facial expressions and mannerisms. True, as ever, was at his side, her fingers intertwining with his.

…

By the time they had caught up Devon and John on the important parts of what had passed during their long sleep, and what Uly knew of the future, Lily had long since joined her brother in the realm of dreams. Julia and Alonzo seemed more awake than they'd ever been, most likely driven by concern for their friends. True was leaning against Uly's shoulder.

He wasn't sure if she was awake, asleep, or somewhere in between. But she was warm, her breathing slow but audible…in a word, still alive. And that was the last thing Uly wanted to experience, to suffer seeing his beloved, vibrant True so still and lifeless. It hurt worse than knowing soon she would be dead along with him, because he had selfishly dragged her into his ridiculous prophetic schemes.

It was such a burden and he was so tired. But had he told his mother and John everything they needed to know? He just wasn't sure what facts would become important, and what visions would remain unrealized. Fighting to keep his eyes opened, he scoured his mind for any seemingly insignificant tidbit that he had neglected. It was always the little, supposedly innocuous clues that turned out vital.

"You're tired, Uly," Devon commented. He hadn't seen such worry in her eyes since he was still a fragile child with the Syndrome. It was quickly suppressed, though, and he knew she was the best one, the only one to take on the task, to guide True and his children, to usher in a glorious utopian future. He quickly surveyed the hulking form of John Danziger with precious little Lily curled up in his lap. It had been a good choice to make the request of True's father as well. The man would protect Devon and the children for everything he was worth, and show them the care and tenderness they deserved.

Uly nodded his head in concession to his mother's observation, and then sighed. There was only more thing to do, one last part he had to fulfill for the plan to continue…

Wistfully, he looked at his wife's pale cheek, laying upon his shoulder, before he scooped her up in his arms and finding a spot secluded from the others, laid her down to sleep. He laid down beside her, cuddling up to her slender form, snaking his arms about her waist and resting his head upon her breast, as he had down a thousand times before, as he would do no longer. Her arms weakly embraced him. She was fading faster than him, and selfishly he didn't want her to go before him.

"Don't leave me yet, True," he pleaded quietly.

"I'm never going to leave you," she replied, her voice a ghostly imitation of what it once was. "We'll always be together."

"Won't we?" her weak voice became strained. She was frightened. And it was entirely his fault. He was supposed to protect her. She was his wife. Instead he had chosen to sacrifice her to a cause.

"Yes, always," Uly reassured her, silent tears wetting the cloth of True's shirt where they fell from his eyes. He had hurt her, his love, his life.

"Tell me you forgive me, True," he pleaded. His normal calm control was all but gone. He could hear the air making its way raggedly in and out of her chest, the thumping of her heart slowing with every beat.

She caressed his cheek, and he responded to her urging, looking up and into her eyes.

"There's nothing to forgive, my love," she told him, her voice weak but her conviction strong. "It was a choice I made, just like you."

"Thank you," Uly whispered while resting his head back upon her chest.

"For what?" True rasped.

"For everything." He held her tighter. "For being you. For loving me despite how much a pain in the ass I am."

She laughed. And it was pleasing to hear, despite the unnaturally flimsy sound of it. They lay in content and contemplative silence for a few moments, knowing it would be their last together alive.

"I love you, Uly, more than I could've ever imagined," True confessed, her voice on the very edge of being audible.

"I love you, too," Uly voiced the one certainty in all his soul's knowledge. _And I didn't deserve you._

He moved to caress her cheek and place delicate kiss upon her lips, cradling her close.

"It's time to rest, now," he whispered, watching True close her eyes and doing the same.

…

Devon wanted to cry, to scream, to curse the universe. But then she wouldn't have been Devon Adair, the great Uly Adair's mother. And she would've failed him, her beloved son. Ironic that she had fought so hard to earn him a chance to survive, to live, just for him to choose to sacrifice it all. But she couldn't be angry with him, not ever, and especially not now.

It was also difficult to resent the planet, the Terrians, when they had given the life he would've never had. But there was still anger trapped inside her. And she would find a worthy recipient upon whom to unleash it. She knew who John had in mind…the traitor who has poisoned their children, orphaned their grandchildren.

"It's a beautiful spot," Julia commented. Devon bit back tears and looked out over the young Adairs' graves, past the edge of the precipice and beyond to the beautiful, lush landscape beyond New Pacifica. Judging from what Uly had told them about the new G889, this was likely where they'd like to rest, on the Fringes, their home, the oppression of the stations and New Pacifica a distant nightmare.

"They'll be at peace, here," Devon managed to say. John hadn't said a word since they found Uly and True dead that morning. She knew the reason. He was barely holding onto his composure as it was. And he, too, had made a promise to the children, to himself, that he would stay strong for Lily and Liam, for True and Uly.

"Would you like to say goodbye, Lily?" Devon asked the young girl, nearly choking on the heartbreaking words. The eerily familiar face looked up into hers, a knowing smile residing upon features that looked so much like her mother's at her age, that Devon had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't little True Danziger's hand she was holding, that they hadn't just crash landed on the alien planet a matter of months ago. But there were differences. She was younger than True had been when Devon met her. And there was that something in little Lily Adair's eyes that was the same as her father's.

"No," she responded without an iota of anxiety or resentment. It wasn't a refusal out of anger.

"I think it would be for the best, Lily," she asserted, perplexed and slightly disturbed by the child's reaction. Liam's peace with the situation, she could understand. He was still too young to fathom what had happened, that his parents were gone. But Lily…

"They aren't there anymore," Lily announced matter-of-factly, leaning over the edge of the grave to look upon where bodies of her parents, so tenderly laid out. "And we already said goodbye, anyway. Besides, they said we'd be together again."

Everyone looked at the child in surprise and shock. Quickly glancing around, Devon saw that the declaration had given John the creeps, that Julia found it bewildering, but Alonzo seemed to look thoughtful as well as shocked.

"Was this in the dreamscape?" Alonzo asked. Lily nodded her head, silenced by the reaction of the adults in the way children have of becoming shy when they think they've done something wrong.

"Well, do you mind if I say goodbye, Lily, since I can't Dream like you?" Devon asked, afraid that she would confuse the girl's understanding of her parent's death. She shook her head.

Devon stepped forward, silently bidding farewell to the son that had been her life, to the sweet girl she had known and he had loved. She tossed the beautiful flower she had found growing outside of the Terrian cave that morning into the grave. It landed gently between their angel-worthy faces, which lifeless and cold glowed nonetheless in the golden caress of the late afternoon sun. And she was glad that they had buried them together, lying in one another's arms as they had requested. Somehow, it was comforting knowing they had one another, even in death. They may have been gone, but they were not alone.

Then she took Liam from John's arms, allowing him to say goodbye to his daughter and her husband. Devon could not hear what he whispered to them, to she who had been his life, but she knew anyway. As sure as she was a parent who had a child ripped from her arms, she knew what he swore to do.

…

The sun moved across the sky and still John did not leave his daughter's grave. Alonzo and Julia had long since left, taking the children with them. But Devon stayed. She had to make sure John didn't drown in his grief. Only, how long was too long to mourn at your child's grave. A parent would never stop mourning such a loss, she would never stop grieving for her son, but it was a despair that she had to carry inside of her, that she might continue her life, if only to fulfill her promise to her lost one.

And John must learn to do the same.

"It's time to leave, John," She said softly, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder. "We have work to do."

He turned to face her, and Devon was startled by what she saw in his eyes. He had always been a hard man, but with a soft, compassionate center. However, if there was anything of that loving core left in him, it was undetectable. Apparently, it had died with his daughter.

"I know," he replied gruffly, pushing past her. She followed him down from the precipice where their children were buried in an unmarked grave. No one knew they were there. No one would disturb them, their peace.

And she and John would soon have their own, with the death of their betrayer.

**A/N: Will Devon and John discover the traitor? Will they avenge Uly and True? What's in store for the young Adair children?**


End file.
